29. Twenty-Nine

twenty-nine

T here had been a lot of moments lately that shook my world so completely that I couldn’t tell up from down. And yet, I was still surprised Finneus dared go after his own brother, the only wolf in the Snake Mountains who could best him in a physical fight.

The show of power wasn’t meant to intimidate or excite the pack, otherwise Finneus would’ve had them stay. No, this was between the brothers.

“Well, Drake?” Finneus sipped his wine and massaged the arm of his throne with his free hand.

“Finn,” Penn growled, his warning a rumble beneath my feet.

“I’m doing this for you, little brother,” Finneus snapped, genuinely bothered that Penn hadn’t figured out his master plan yet. “To show you what kind of girl she really is beneath the pretty face and expensive clothes.”

“It’s me. She picks me!” Penn fired back, balling his hands into fists at his sides.

“No!” The word just popped out.

“So, Evera it is.” Finneus nodded.

Two strays dragged her forward with leashes attached to a collar around her neck.

“No!” I moved to stand between Malia and my best friend. “I didn’t say that.”

“Finn, stop fucking around.” Penn’s eyes were pure gold when he stared down his brother—his alpha. “Drake picks me. Now let’s get this over with. You’ve made your point.”

Finneus shook his head. “No, I haven’t, and I won’t let you play the white knight.” His gaze swung back to me. “Say. A. Name.”

His command had little effect on me. I did experience a slight tug, though it might’ve been my own urgency. Of all the decisions in life my father had prepared me to make, this was not one of them. How did I choose between the two people that meant the most in my life?

Evera had been by my side for years. Growing up we’d done everything together. She knew all my secrets. I loved her like a sister.

“Drake.” Penn’s deep voice spoke my name like a promise.

I knew what he wanted me to do, and it was probably the logical choice. He was stronger and more likely to come away unscathed.

Images from the dream rose like smoke in my mind. The pain. I couldn’t—I wouldn’t—subject someone else to that torture.

“Drake.” I gritted my teeth and met Finneus’s tarlike gaze. “I choose myself.”

Penn grabbed hold of my arm, but I snatched it back.

“I’m the one who screwed up. Punish me.”

Evera pawed at the ground and bared her teeth.

Finneus narrowed his eyes as if this was a trick. “You aren’t an option. My brother and I have a deal.”

Penn reached for me again. This time I swatted his hand.

“Yet you wouldn’t let him choose for me.” I arched an eyebrow, projecting way more composure than I felt. “By your logic, he also shouldn’t be allowed to make deals on my behalf.”

An expression torn between amusement and annoyance filled Finneus’ features. “You really are your father’s daughter.” He gave a short bark of laughter. “I almost hope you are my mate.”

Paula’s eyes went wide as she stared at her fiancé, mouth hanging open. By the time she turned to me, rage contorted her pretty face. She wasn’t the only one pissed off with the comment. Magic filled the air and, for a minute, I thought Penn’s giant red wolf would make an appearance. He managed to rein in the shift, a nearly impossible display of control considering his turbulent emotions rocketing through the room.

“I really didn’t think you had it in you, Drake.” Finneus finished his wine. “Basil spoiled you. It made you weak.”

Claws shot from my nails and bit into my palms. I hated the part of me that agreed with him. It wasn’t Dad’s fault. If anyone deserved the blame, it was me for not paying closer attention to…everything.

“Your choice shows a strength I didn’t think you possessed,” Finneus went on, sounding impressed. “A quality my true mate will also have.”

Honestly, it didn’t take any strength to accept my own punishment. It was the right thing to do. In a way, I understood Finneus’s twisted logic. For a lot of spoiled shifters like myself, passing off consequences to another was the easiest route—definitely the least painful.

Finneus held out his hand to Paula without looking at her. She beamed, her entire face lighting up as she threaded her fingers with his. He brushed his lips across her knuckles, and her chest swelled with pride.

“You’ll split the punishment with Drake,” he murmured against her skin.

“Wait. What?” Paula struggled against his hold, but he refused to let go. “You can’t be serious. I apologized in front of everyone, just like you wanted. Don’t do this.”

My heart hammered against my ribs. I didn’t know whether to intervene—what would I say? She had instigated the fight, so it wasn’t like she was blameless. Still…

“Prove to me you’re worthy of being my mate,” he growled.

Paula stilled, the blood draining from her face. She knew there wasn’t a choice, despite Finneus’ lack of a command. I supposed that made it harder for her. At least if he’d ordered her to accept the consequences of her actions, she wouldn’t have had to find the strength within herself to do so.

The whole scene made me ill. Though I wanted to look at Penn, to see the reassurance on his face, I didn’t dare. One glance into his eyes might crack my resolve.

With a deep, shaky breath, Paula forced a smile. “As you wish, my alpha.”

Finneus released her hand, and she came to stand beside me. Her contempt was like a live wire, zapping me with little crackles of blame. In her mind, this was entirely my fault. That was fine. Anger would help her fight the pain.

Malia’s words came back to me yet again: “Make sure you save some of that delicious rage for tomorrow, Drake. It makes your power taste so much sweeter.”

The caster wore a serene expression that belied her cunning nature. Had she known I would pick myself? If so, why not share the vision with Finneus? He had seemed genuinely surprised someone he found so vapid might accept responsibility.

“Finn, can I talk—”

“It’s fine, Penn,” I interjected and locked eyes with the caster. “Take your fucking magic.”

The dream had not adequately prepared me, or maybe Malia was much stronger than the lady in gold. Pain wasn’t even the worst of it. The physical agony I’d anticipated. It was the mental anguish that nearly broke me.

Black spots dotted my peripheral vision as a slideshow of my worst memories played in my mind. Flames licked my skin and sweat soaked through my dress. My insides twisted in knots. A scream tore at my throat. I bit down on the inside of my cheek until blood seeped into my mouth.

Beside me, Paula shrieked and collapsed in a twitching heap on the floor. Penn shouted at his brother, but I couldn’t hear his words over the cries in my head. Then the darkness consumed me, and the true horror show began.

The dream wasn’t as crisp and clear as the previous ones. I saw the scene through a haze, and while I experienced everything firsthand, I felt a level of detachment that hadn’t been there previously. I honestly couldn’t decide whether that made it better or worse.

I lay in a bed covered in blood. My breath came in rasps as life drained out of me. A woman appeared with a wet cloth, which she pressed to my mouth. She leaned close as though worried about someone overhearing.

“Your husband is pleased,” she whispered.

“And my daughter?” I wheezed.

She glanced over her shoulder. “You know they will execute me if they learn the truth.”

I tried to shake my head. “I won’t let that happen.”

“Forgive me, but you won’t be here to stop them,” she replied, tears filling her brown eyes.

My throat was painfully dry, and I started to cough when I tried to swallow. She squeezed water between my lips until the fit subsided.

“Just tell me she’s safe,” I demanded.

“She’s on her way to Zosia, just as you asked.”

My head fell back on the pillows, eyelids falling closed for the last time. Twins had been fortuitous. It doubled my chances. One would remain with the Ophiuchus, while the other went to live with the only person who would keep her safe and protect her.

See you on the other side, Zosia , I thought. With that, I let myself slip into oblivion.

The next scene was no less somber than the first. I lay facedown on wet pavement, rain pelting my back. A heavy boot pressed between my shoulder blades, the heel digging painfully into my spine. I reached deep for the magic that lived inside of me, something I hadn’t done in years. My wolf stirred but refused to wake.

“That’s what living in the human world will do to you—it makes you soft,” the man pinning me to the ground said in a gravelly voice.

I struggled, only to realize I couldn’t move my left arm.

“Why are you doing this?” I demanded. “Who sent you?”

“Your kind can’t be allowed to live,” he said. His tone was devoid of malice, which made the whole thing more terrifying.

“My kind? You mean the Ophiuchus?”

His heel ground between my vertebrae. “No, Diana. I mean the eternals.”

My heart skipped a beat. After all this time, the past had finally caught up with me. Just not my past. This fae man hadn’t hunted me like prey for my sins in this life. It was Diana’s crimes he sought to kill me for. I felt no fear, only peace. The descendant was alive, so I could die and it would be okay.

Gravel scraped my cheeks as a grin spread across my face. “My kind are inevitable. You can’t fight fate.”

He bled me of my magic, and I lost consciousness long before he ended my life.

The scene dissolved, and I soon found myself bounding through the woods. We’d been having trouble with trespassers lately. My mate and half our best enforcers were dealing with the recent vampire attacks down in the valley. As the alpha’s wife and mother to his heir, he’d left me in charge of the pack, so I decided to investigate the perimeter breach myself.

I should’ve taken some form of backup, even if just my maid. She wasn’t a great fighter, but our uninvited guests left human scents behind, and they were no match for any pair of wolves. Still, I couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling in my gut—something wasn’t right.

The air was too still, and the sky too dark. My fur stood on end as I strained to listen for a sign that I wasn’t alone. No snapping branches. Not a single beating heart. No foreign scents. And yet, I felt eyes on me.

My head whipped from side to side. Nothing. I changed course and headed for home and the safety of others. A blur passed in front of me. I blinked and skidded to a stop, teeth bared. Motion in my peripheral vision drew my attention to the right.

Nothing.

“Diana,” a familiar voice sang from my left side.

I whirled to find only darkness.

“Aren’t you a gorgeous one?”

I faced forward. His face was so pale it glowed. He spoke in a rich, captivating voice. Everything about him was sinfully gorgeous, even his ruby irises. I couldn’t look away.

“I take it I have the pleasure of being your first?” His fangs peeked out when he smiled.

His assumption was correct. I’d never seen a vampire before. My mate had told me stories, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the real thing.

He patted his leg. “Come here, good girl.”

What am I, a fucking dog? I thought, incensed at the disrespect. I was the alpha’s mate. No one spoke to me like that.

And yet, I trotted to his side like he was my alpha. A second vampire sauntered from the shadows, a large brown wolf by his side.

“Funny thing about dark magic, like the kind that created you.” The immortal conjured a ball of ice in his palm and held it out for me to see. “And the kind that created me. There are always hidden costs, Diana.”

I wanted to back away, but my paws felt glued to the ground. This wasn’t just any regular vampire. Even fae turned vampire couldn’t still use their magic. Only one immortal had the unique ability, and he was nothing more than legend. Supposedly, he was the original, the first vampire from which all others descended.

“My brethren are rising,” the vampire continued. He gestured to the other immortal. “What do you think, Dorian? Will she do?”

The newcomer crouched in front of me. I snarled and he laughed.

“She’s feisty, but not nearly as vicious as I’d hoped,” Dorian said.

My jaws parted to show him just how vicious I could be.

“Halt,” the vampire commanded.

I froze, unable to do more than huff in indignation.

Dorian grinned and stared at me with his hypnotic eyes. “You are obedient. I do like that.”

Fear and fury spiked in equal measure. What did this vampire plan to do with me?

“It is much easier when you don’t have to break them first,” the other immortal agreed.

Dorian grabbed hold of the sides of my head. My muscles refused to obey me, but he ordered me to shift, and my body complied. In human form, I knelt in front of Dorian, murderous rage building inside of me. For the first time since becoming a wolf, I truly felt helpless.

“I claim you, Diana. As my protector.” His magic filled the air, swirling in bands of light around the two of us. “From the moment you rise, your loyalty will be to me, as your sire, above all. You will defend me with your soul if necessary, and our bond will endure even death.”

His gleaming fangs flashed and then pierced my neck. The pain didn’t last long. Once the endorphins from his bite hit my bloodstream, I no longer cared. I felt weightless, like a balloon with two strings. One tethered me to Dorian, while the other bound me to my mate.

Would that change once I joined the ranks of the undead?

Voices drifted through a sea of darkness, riding a silent wave to pull me back to the present. They spoke in hushed tones, and I was pretty sure they were talking about me. It took me a minute to remember what had happened last time my eyes were open.

Malia. My magic. Paula collapsing beside me.

The memory made my head hurt. If I just slept a little longer, I could deal with reality later. Except, the dreams had been worse than Finneus’ punishment. In each snippet, I’d died.

Am I dead now?

Panic made me curl tighter into myself. What if all those scenes were my lives flashing before my eyes? No. Not your memories , I reminded myself.

I forced my eyelids open and blinked until I adjusted to the dim lighting in an unfamiliar bedroom. Through the open door, I saw two shadows in the hallway. Though I couldn’t see him, I knew one belonged to Penn.

“Are you sure it worked?” he demanded in a low, irritated tone.

“Look, kid. These things take time,” a man replied, not bothering to keep his voice down.

He spoke with an American accent, like the people in movies who were from Brooklyn or maybe the Bronx.

“Besides,” the man continued, “it seems you all have been undergoing a regime change. That’s not easy for a pampered girl like her. Let her sleep.”

My jaw dropped opened, lip drawing back in a snarl. Who did this man think he was? He had no right making assumptions about me, even if they were true. We didn’t know each other.

“Drake’s tougher than she looks,” Penn said, though he didn’t dispute the pampered part.

I wondered whether that should bother me.

“No shit. Not many wolves I’ve met would’ve survived that. Too much longer and you’d be looking for a new girlfriend.”

I pulled the blanket tighter around myself. Had it really been that close? Did Malia purposely take too much magic from me? Had she meant to scare me, break me down, or had she hoped I’d die and make Finneus’ life easier?

Oddly, aside from the chill in my bones, I felt…okay. My body didn’t hurt. My insides no longer felt like they were on fire. If anything, I was hungry.

The conversation in the hallway ended, and both men stepped into the doorway. Penn ran his hand through his hair and exhaled loudly when he saw me sitting up. He didn’t hide his relief.

“I thought—”

“Yeah, yeah. He thought he lost you,” the other man interjected. “He’s been distraught, a complete nightmare to deal with.”

I reluctantly pulled my gaze from Penn to glare at the judgmental stranger. He wore a tailored suit with no tie. His clothes were clearly expensive, yet he struck me as more of a rugged man than a business one. Tattoos peeked out from beneath his open collar. And he was fae.

“Walter Stolly?” I guessed.

He flashed me a grin. “At your service.” He shook his head. “Man, Zosia is gonna be pissed she missed out on seeing you.”